On gratitude

To Spirit:

Spirit,

Please help me with the expression of gratitude. I feel gratitude right now. Gratitude for your teachings, gratitude for the role I get to play, gratitude for all the signs and inspiration and guidance that come my way and help build my trust. I notice I sometimes struggle to allow myself to feel gratitude. Part of me is always waiting for the next crisis, and another part of me even thinks that being grateful for illusions is keeping me stuck. Spirit, please help me allow gratitude.

Spirit, please help me.

From Spirit:

My child,

Your gratitude is illusory, yes, but a welcome form of illusion which leads away from illusions. Do not forget that all things you seem to experience can be looked upon with one of two teachers. One teacher looks upon illusion and panics, contradicts itself, and tells you you better do something. The other teacher looks not upon illusion, and feels gratitude that what is real could never be threatened. Your gratitude - for me, for your understanding of forgiveness, and for all your inspirations and guidance - is reflective of the one who knows all is well. When you feel gratitude you are listening to the one who knows. How could this be wrong? Gratitude for what is is your natural state. The ego is unfamiliar and uncomfortable with it because the ego is not natural. Let the ego confuse itself trying to understand this. Do not let your self be bothered by its confusion.

Turn towards the calm certainty in your mind. The turning is an illusion, but it is the best thing you can do while thinking you are an illusory self having an illusory experience. In time you will become aware of the truth which inspires true gratitude. Do not worry yourself with the intermediary steps that you seem to be taking and how they are not real. This is your ego denying its own experience in a most unhelpful way. Yes, it is not real. But remember that this is cause for gratitude, rather than a reason to hold gratitude back.

Be grateful that you have learned how to use illusions to lead you out of illusion! Be grateful that this is possible! And continue to turn away from the little ego self who suggests anything you are doing is wrong and to be feared. Be grateful that this confused self is not what you really are.